A Preview Of Election Day, Questionable Claims About Same-Sex Marriage, and A Nor'easter Set To Strike MD

Tomorrow is election day. In Maryland, the polls will be open from 7 tomorrow morning until 8 tomorrow night. You can find out where your polling place is located via this link from the Maryland State Board of Elections.

Maryland voters will weigh in on the Presidential race, the state's US Senate race, and races for the House of Representatives. They'll also decide a host of ballot questions -- including the hotly contested "Question 4" (which deals with the Maryland DREAM Act, which would permit some undocumented immigrants to pay in-state colleg tuition rates), "Question 5" (which deals with the Congressional redistricting map passed by the General Assembly last year), "Question 6" (which deals with Maryland's law legalizing same-sex marriage), and "Question 7" (which deals with a plan to expand Maryland's casino gambling program by allowing a new casino in Prince George's County and permitting table games like poker at casinos around the state). There are 3 other statewide questions, and many local ones as well.

You can find sample ballots via this link from the Maryland State Board of Elections. 

More than 430-thousand voters have already cast their ballots during the state's early voting period; that represents more than 11 and a half percent of registered voters, and is the highest early voting turnout since Maryland began the practice in 2010 (more here from the Baltimore Sun). 

One of the most hotly contested referendum questions on Maryland’s election ballot is, as mentioned above, "Question 6" -- which asks voters to approve a measure to legalize same sex marriage passed during the last General Assembly session. In the heat of the campaign opponents have made some questionable claims. WYPR’s Joel McCord reports.

On today's edition of Inside Maryland Politics, WYPR Senior News Analyst Fraser Smith talks to The Sun's Andy Green about how early voting has caught on and what it could mean in the election.

In other news this morning: Maryland Attorney General Douglas Gansler is calling on Congress to continue funding for programs that fight human trafficking. Last week, Gansler and 46 other state and territorial attorneys general sent a letter to congressional leaders, urging them to pass the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act. Gansler says the nation cannot turn its back on the victims of human trafficking by letting these protections expire at the end of the year (via our wire service; more here from the State AG's office).

A group of Maryland state troopers left from Cecil County yesterday for a deployment to New Jersey. The 25 troopers all volunteered to help with hurricane recovery efforts and will bolster strained police resources in Ocean and Monmouth counties. They'll be housed at Fort Dix during their stay (via our wire service; more here from the Baltimore Sun).

Just a week after Hurricane Sandy, the East Coast is bracing for another serious storm. The National Weather Service is tracking a nor'easter that could pack winds up to 50 miles an hour, causing tidal flooding and potentially bringing snow to our state. Maryland could feel the storm's impact on Wednesday or Thursday (via our wire service and the Baltimore Sun). 

And in sports: the Ravens beat the Cleveland Browns yesterday; the score was 25 to 15. The Ravens will be back in Baltimore on Sunday, for a game against the Oakland Raiders.